News of: Friday, 29th of July, 2011

Front Page

The High Court yesterday ordered the inspector general of police to suspend immediately three officers of Khilgaon Police Station including its officer-in-charge for torturing a Dhaka University student in their custody.

The prime minister has approved a proposal of Petrobangla to award the contract for installation of two gas compressors on an unsolicited basis to Russian company Gazprom, which is directly in conflict with an ongoing bidding for the same.

Cracking the whip, India's right wing Hindu nationalist party BJP yesterday asked its Chief Minister (CM) of the southern state of Karnataka B S Yeddyurappa to resign forthwith after an official anti-corruption watchdog indicted him in an illegal iron ore mining scam in the state.

Zambian President Rupiah Banda yesterday set elections for September 20, hoping a humming economy will help him win his first full term in office against an opposition whose alliance has already cracked.

Editorial

With 75.08 per cent of students emerging successful at this year's HSC examinations, it appears that education at that level is on course in the country. The number of those who have achieved GPA-5 is higher than previously, which of course convinces many that the standard of education has gone up. Additionally, a remarkable degree of efficiency has come into the preparation, tabulation and announcement of the results. Where earlier it took the authorities ninety days to make the results known, this time that period has been slashed to fifty-seven. We therefore congratulate the authorities. And, of course, our heartiest congratulations go out to the successful candidates. They have earned their laurels.

Sports

So the World Cup dream of Bangladesh is over. But not before the boys of Nikola Ilievski put up a show that was spectacularly daring. The only thing missing was perhaps the belief that they could overturn Lebanon's impressive 4-0 home leg advantage.

At the pre-match conference on Wednesday, Bangladesh's Macedonian coach Nikola Ilievski saw little hope of winning against Lebanon but the players' fierce desire to win propelled them to a historic 2-0 win over the Western Asian nation in the second leg of the FIFA World Cup pre-qualifying round at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Bangladesh maintained their unbeaten run in the Sheikh Kamal International Basketball Tournament when they beat the Maldives in their third game at the Dhanmondi Basketball Gymnasium yesterday afternoon.

Holders Viquarunnissa Noon School & College became Group A champions to reach the semifinal of the 14th Delta Life Women's College/University Handball Tournament with a massive 27-1 goals victory over Dr. Malika University at the Handball Stadium yesterday.

The Bangladesh cricket team ran into some complications on their journey to Zimbabwe for a Test and five-ODI tour in Doha yesterday. After their long stopover in Doha the Tigers and the accompanying journalists were denied passage to Johannesburg because they were without South African transit visas, the possession of which is a new regulation for passengers passing through South Africa. The BCB were apparently unaware of this new rule, and after communication with the authorities in South Africa, the situation was resolved and the team continued on their journey after a one-hour delay.

Blackburn Rovers striker El-Hadji Diouf was handed a five-year international ban by the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) on Wednesday, following remarks he made in the media about corruption in African football.

Amjad Khan Chowdhury, president of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said economic integration and cooperation between the South Asian countries should be conceived within the framework of regional economic integration, where all natural and environmental resources, facilities and opportunities should be utilised for the benefit of all countries in the region.

The central bank has set a target for local and foreign banks of disbursing Tk 13,800 crore in agriculture loans for this fiscal year. The target is 9.4 percent higher than in the previous fiscal year.

Like the alumni of a cash-strapped college, ethnic South Asians living abroad are constantly being pestered to fork out a bit for the dear old place. After all, South Asia remains poor, and they, collectively, are loaded. According to a 2009 estimate, Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Nepalis living abroad were worth $1 trillion, with another guess the following year suggesting that non-resident Indians own a further $500m-worth of gold, property and art. The hope has long been that the South Asian diaspora might do for the region back home what the overseas Chinese did for China and pour in investment to fuel rapid growth. A first-ever “South Asian Diaspora Convention” held this week in Singapore had an even more ambitious aim: to use overseas South Asians to foster regional economic integration.

Metropolitan

At least 10 people were injured as slum dwellers and Bangladesh Railway (BR) security personnel clashed for around one hour in the city's North Shahjahanpur Railway Colony yesterday when the personnel went there on an eviction drive.

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said yesterday Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has to apologise to the nation for curbing freedom of expression and snatching people's voting right by amending the constitution.

Rajdhani Unnyan Kartripakhya (Rajuk) knocked down 36 billboards and signboards of nine illegal private housing projects near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and in Khilkhet in the city yesterday.

Candidates in the recently held union parishad elections have spent huge amounts of money, which is not a good sign for safety net programmes and warrants investigation, the food and disaster minister said yesterday.

Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (Sust) unit in Sylhet organised a rally near the university campus yesterday protesting the death threat to it's joint convener Al-Mamun.

Qulkhwani of A K M Fazlul Haque, former DESA official and father of Faiz-un-nesa Liza, sub-editor of the Dainik Ittefaq, will be held at his residence at Iqbal Road of Mohammadpur in the city after Asr prayers today, says a press release.

Six and a half years into the incident, the CID yesterday afternoon filed charge sheet in the case for grenade attack on the house of Sylhet district Mohila AL president Syeda Zebunnesa Haque, also lawmaker from Sylhet-Sunamganj district.

Failed in the HSC examinations, a girl allegedly committed suicide by taking poison at Majhiara village in Tala upazila on Wednesday evening. Sathi Dutta, 18, Daughter of Deddas Dutta, took poison after she came to know her results at around 6:0030pm. She died on way to Tala Upazila Health Complex at around 7:30pm. Sathi sat for the HSC examinations this year from humanities group from Tala Mohila College under Jessore education board.

An Awami League (AL) leader was arrested with a gun and three bullets in Jaliapara area under Ramgarh upazila of Khagrachhari district yesterday. Acting on a tip-off, an army team of Guimara zone arrested Abul Kasham, president of Halfchhari Union AL, at his house at Jaliapara at around 11:00am and recovered a gun and three bullets from his possession. After interrogation, the army team handed him over to Guimara police.

Robbers looted 45 tolas of gold ornaments and cash from a jewellery shop and a house, killing one person in two incident yesterday. They looted cash and gold ornaments, leaving a trader dead in Atghar village in Saltha upazila. OC Afsar Uddin of Saltha PS said a gang of 10-12 entered the house of trader Prodip Ghosh at 2:00 am and looted three tolas gold jewelleries and cash Tk 18,000 from the house. The gang stabbed Pradip's younger brother Probir, 40, to death. In another incident, 20-30 armed robbers swooped on Monosha Jewellers at Kanaipur bazar in Sadar upazila at around 2 am. They took away 42 tolas of gold ornaments and cash Tk 60,000 from the jewelry shop.

A rocket launcher was recovered in Dhakaipatti area of the town yesterday. Witnesses said some labourers were setting up pole in Dhakaipatti area at about 2.00 pm. At one stage they found the rocket lancer in the earth. Being informed a police team led by sub-inspector Anwar Hossain rushed to the spot and recovered it. Later police took it to Jamalpur Sadar police station. According to police the length of the rocket launcher is one and half feet and weighs 15 kg.

Letters

We are sadly observing that some people of the government are cutting trees, forcefully buying the land of poor farmers to build apartments, erasing hills and grabbing rivers. Both print and electronic media are trying to draw the attention of the government to take immediate action against such harmful activities going on in broad daylight. But none of the ministries concerned is taking any effective measure to stop this (except some eyewash). Reports have so far revealed that in most of the cases people of the government parties (both previous and present) are involved with such heinous activities. That is why after the independence we had ministers of AL, BNP and JP, but we did not have a minister of Bangladesh. They helped the corrupt and so-called powerful people but not the common people.

People of our country are suffering a chronic price rise of the essential commodities. The price of rice has gone up and also we will have shortage of sugar, oil, and other commodities in the coming Ramadan days. The same will happen in the case of vegetables. The government is trying to achieve a name in the global scenario, but in fact it is forgetting its role in the country. They could not control the price hike in the last one year. The government says it will monitor the market during Ramadan, but people's speculation is that this move will fail badly as happened in the past years. At the same time, the bus fare, rickshaw fare- all are increasing very rapidly. How will common people survive?

Road accidents occur almost every day. The strange thing is that most of the accidents occur due to the carelessness of the drivers. They try to drive the vehicles at their sweet will violating the traffic rules. In most of the cases, the drivers manage to jump out of the vehicles sensing the imminent danger and flee away without thinking of the passengers.

Three bomb blasts went off within 11 minutes at Zaveri Bazar, Kabutarkhana, and Opera House of Mumbai on 13th July. Mumbai faced another bloody day that killed 21 persons and injured 141 others. It is completely a failure of the intelligence and a huge success of the terrorists. The relation between Mumbai police and the underworld is an open secret now. If the terrorists and criminals work in joint venture, then how could the public live safely? This will affect the relation between India and Pakistan and South Asian political stability will be hampered.

Nowadays, the most pathetic situation the BCS cadres face is becoming an OSD, which happens with the change of the political regime, as still now neutral civil administration system could not be established due to political interference. Consequently, career of many brilliant officers are being hampered and we noticed that some OSD officers even committed suicide being insulted with this status, though they served the nation for a long time. In fact, political affiliation is the prime cause for this situation because the political govt. always wants to politicize the total administration. According to the experts, impartial and neutral civil administration is indispensable for the continuous development of a country while the label of OSD on the BCS cadres bar the propagation of development. Considering the bright prospect and future of the country, political govt. should stop this harsh step with a view to punishing the civil servants. We, the people of all walks of life, want to see a better Bangladesh through the active participation of all BCS cadres.

Sir Frank Peters' very frank opinion on the matter published in the pages of some local English dailies on July 16th gave an interesting suggestion, which has escaped most of us. We are forced to bear the uncalled for misery at the whims of political parties unnecessarily!

After the controversial presidential clemency of ABM Biplob, son of an AL leader, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina openly defended the move saying that the convict was a political victim of BNP-Jamaat coalition.

It is very saddening that we are still long way off establishing the supremacy of rule of law which is the panacea for our ills. Most students opt for administrative positions in the BCS examination not because they want to serve the country but because those positions will give them all that we wish for as respectable citizens-security, honor and immunity from punishment for corruption and crime. Our society has fetish for pomp and power. The cold war between DCs and SPs is the result of that sentiment created by unbridled undue wielding of power. During the UP election presiding officers had to sit for the double training program -- one led by Dcs and other by SPs. As a presiding officer I had to suffer the heavy-handedness on the part of the policemen that was allotted for me. Policemen's interference in my conduction of election got on my nerve but I bore it patiently thinking that my protest would aggravate the situation; my honor and position would then grovel under the boot. I know a long standing humiliation has taken away my capacity to boldly straddle the world like a horse but I feel emboldened seeing the weak and unconscious raise their heads all around me. Wait, we are coming to correct the wrong!

A few months back, all of a sudden in a fine morning, DMP prevented all rickshaws plying from Malibag intersection to Segun Bagicha area saying that this was a VIP road. In protest of that order, people instantly brought out a violent procession and vandalized many vehicles. Then DMP authority said, "Actually, police was rehearsing how to ease the traffic congestion." But then again, on July 20, 2011 DMP police repeated the same thing ignoring the sufferings of women, children, aged and ailing people. As a regular office goer I witnessed these sufferings and altercations with traffic police. Moreover, Ramadan is coming; even for a healthy fasting person it is tiresome to return home on foot in summer afternoons. I urge upon the DMP authorities to find out an alternative to mitigate the sufferings of the people of these areas.

Libya's rebel National Transitional Council has nominated Mahmud Nacua as its ambassador to London, a council official said yesterday after Britain recognised the group as the country's sole government.

Hanif Sanket's popular show “Ityadi” is reputed for being shot at sites of immense cultural, traditional, mythical and historical significance. The next episode of “Ityadi” will be no different: it has been filmed at the Nawab Manzil of Dhanbari, under Tangail, a place of considerable historical interest.

Two plays were staged at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on July 27. Aranyak Natyadal staged its acclaimed play “Ebong Bidyasagar” at the National Theatre Hall, while Mahakal Natyasampraday staged its new production “Nishimon Bishorjon” at the Experimental Theatre Hall.

Marking 150th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore and 1st anniversary of music school Uttarayan, a programme featuring music, recitation and dance will be held today at 6:45pm at National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.

OP-ED

The president has pardoned again. A forgiving man has forgiven now because he has also forgiven before. A lot of people may be upset with him, but I think I understand the man. He has seen too much death in his life. The normal wears and tears. The genocide in 1971. The flames of violent politics consumed his wife. Then, of course, ageing has its daily dalliance with death.

The military relationship between the United States and China is one of the world's most important. And yet, clouded by some misunderstanding and suspicion, it remains among the most challenging. There are issues on which we disagree and are tempted to confront each other. But there are crucial areas where our interests coincide, on which we must work together.

The greatest denial that citizens are having to suffer is that of purposeful, pro-people, intelligent and farsighted political leadership. The elderly and the middle-aged are frustrated and the youth feel exploited losing interest in the present and future of the country. The disenchantment with political leadership is complete, the forward-looking social indicators, the handmaiden of hardworking enterprising people regardless.

Thirty-five years ago a man who many of us knew, respected and admired was executed at Dhaka Central Jail. As in years past we have gathered -- some for the first time and others who have previously attended memorials -- so that we can remember Abu Taher, his principles and how the rule of law was turned into a set of arbitrary and ad hoc procedures by a regime determined to rule by illegal methods.

While it is not the policy of The Daily Star to serialise articles, given the degree of public interest regarding matters revolving around the execution of Col Taher, the topicality of the matter, as well as the importance and the quality of the article, we are making an exception and publishing Lawrence Lifschultz's, “Injustice Anywhere Is a Thereat to Justice Everywhere” in six installments starting today.

StarTech

Few weeks ago a friend of mine was almost dying to get a membership of a gym. He wasn't ready to spend a lot for it though. Few days later he phoned me excitedly. He found a gym with a discounted deal through a website. It offers different deals too.

A4Tech, one of the world's leading computer accessories makers, through its authorised distributor Global Brand Pvt Ltd, has introduced V-track technology optical mouse in the local market that works on most surfaces, says a press release.